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Posted on Thu, Aug 16, 2012 : 5:35 p.m.

Crash on I-94 near Chelsea injures two drivers

By Cindy Heflin

Firefighters work to free a driver from a crash on Interstate 94 near Fletcher Road Thursday morning.

Photo courtesy of Lou Bartal

A two-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 Thursday morning injured two drivers and flipped an SUV over, tying up traffic during the morning rush hour.

The accident occurred about 8 a.m. when the driver of a Chrysler Town and Country ran into the back of a Lincoln MKX crossover SUV on I-94 just west of Fletcher Road near Chelsea, said Capt. Derek Klink of the Chelsea Area Fire Authority. The impact flipped the MKX over onto its roof in the median, Klink said. The driver of the MKX said she was slowing down for traffic when the crash occurred, Klink said.

The woman who was driving was held in the vehicle by a seatbelt. Other motorists who stopped to help unbuckled her. She was suffering from back pain and remained lying down inside the vehicle until firefighters could move her to an ambulance, Klink said.

Firefighters cut away a portion of the car and used a backboard to move her to an ambulance, he said.

Huron Valley Ambulance paramedics tended to the other driver and transported both to the University of Michigan Hospital in stable condition, Klink said.

One lane on each side of the freeway was blocked for a time as firefighters and paramedics tended to the drivers, Klink said.

Comments

grimmk

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 1:07 p.m.

Does anyone else remember the days when driving used to be fun and relaxing? Now it's just like bumper cars and you're always on high alert. I really hope no one is to blame and it's just an accident. I really hope that the injured driver is ok and gets better soon.
Let's not jump the gun and say &quot;alcohol&quot; or &quot;texting&quot;.
Is it me or are there more accidents now, especially on 23 and 94?

GoNavy

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 5:36 p.m.

Do YOU remember the days when &quot;driving was fun and relaxing&quot;? Perhaps you didn't even realize the danger you were in.
A search for &quot;List of motor vehicle deaths in U.S. by year&quot; will show you that, unless we're talking about 1918 (how old are you?) it's never been safer to be on the road.

Bertha Venation

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.

I wish people would not tailgate! It scares the living bejabers out of me. I've been hit 5 times. Plus, with the cell phones and people still texting.

GoNavy

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.

Hmm. You've been hit five times? Do you drive slowly in the left lane, by chance?

GoNavy

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.

Another SUV finds itself on its back. SUV's: Great when plowing into smaller cars, terrible when it comes to vehicle dynamics.
But ya, &quot;SUV's are safer than cars.&quot;

JRW

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 3:06 a.m.

So, the driver of the Chrysler ran into the back of the Lincoln, who was slowing down for traffic. The impact from behind caused the Lincoln to flip over onto its roof on the median. I gotta tell ya, this sounds like the Chrysler was traveling at a pretty high rate of speed to cause a big automobile like a Lincoln SUV to flip after being hit from behind. No indication in the article of high speed or distraction, but I would bet that both played a role. Hope everyone recovers.

jcj

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 12:14 a.m.

It would be interesting to see some data on the increase in traffic accidents in Washtenaw County in the last 5 to 10 years. How about it a2.com?

jcj

Fri, Aug 17, 2012 : 2:24 a.m.

Thanks Edwin I would have thought there would be a significant increase. I guess I just pay more attention now.